


In the Middle of a Long Road

by mismatched_ideas



Series: It's Easier With You [13]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Adoption, Anxiety, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Language Barrier, M/M, Mostly Fluff, New York City AU, Sort Of, international adoption, not completely
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-28
Updated: 2017-09-28
Packaged: 2019-01-06 09:45:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12208740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mismatched_ideas/pseuds/mismatched_ideas
Summary: Seung-gil and Phichit have been working on their plans to adopt for a while now, international adoption took a long time, and they were finally,finally, going to meet their child in person.





	In the Middle of a Long Road

**Author's Note:**

  * For [alison](https://archiveofourown.org/users/alison/gifts), [Caroline](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caroline/gifts).



> I sort of state language when it's used but for reference, italics is Korean, bold is Thai, and plain text is English. 
> 
> \---
> 
> This is minimally edited because I'm tired and have been working on this for too long and it's 1a so posting barely edited fics always seems like a good idea.

To say Phichit was nervous on the plane to South Korea would have an understatement. Even after months of process, he really hadn’t thought this would ever feel real but now that they were on the plane, he was feeling the panic set in.

“Seung-gil.” Phichit murmured to his husband who was half asleep next to him. “Sweetpea.”

“Hmm?” Seung-gil blinked away, groggily looking at his very awake husband. “Phichit, you should get some sleep.”

“I can’t sleep.”

“Is something wrong?”

“I’m just really worried.” Phichit confessed, reaching to grab Seung-gil’s hand tightly. “What if it doesn’t work out? What if they don’t like us? What if she hates me?”

“She won’t hate you.”

“But my Korean is so bad and I’m not Korean and she’d probably still attached to her parents and–”

“Phichit,” Seung-gil interrupted. “You don’t have to worry.”

Phichit sighed but smiled at Seung-gil. Usually Seung-gil was the one who needed to be calmed down and Phichit was used to helping him through the anxiety he did his best to hide. But it seemed that often, the moment Phichit showed any signs of anxiety, Seung-gil became a peaceful and calm presence.

“I just want this to work out.”

It had been months and months of paperwork and programs and visits to their house in suburban New York to get them cleared. For as much time as it took, Phichit was pretty sure they’d actually had an easy time of it. South Korea didn’t make adoption easy but given Seung-gil’s South Korean citizenship, Phichit suspected some of the process took less time.

It had been worth it, Phichit knew that, because now they were going to have a daughter. After three years of watching almost all their friends have children, some of which were second or third children, Phichit and Seung-gil were happy to finally be able to complete the family they both wanted. Seung-gil hadn’t been the first to make mention of kids, that had been Phichit’s move, but Phichit had noticed how he looked at their friends’ kids. Phichit thought he was going to steal Andrew after their wedding the way he would go on about the boy. Of course, ‘go on’ for Seung-gil meant he made a few comments about how cute he was or about how nice it had been for him to go talk to JJ and Isabella’s son but Phichit could tell he was completely taken in by the cuteness of Viktor and Yuuri’s son. And at the wedding – well really the day before the wedding – he’d been placed in charge of Rose and Hazel, Leo and Guang Hong’s twin babies, for a little while and Phichit had almost fainted at how sweet the smile Seung-gil gave the babies had been while he sang one of the two to sleep.

Basically, it had been easy for Phichit to see that Seung-gil just didn’t want to be the one to ask about kids because that was who Seung-gil was. So he’d asked and it wasn’t long after that that they started the process to adopt.

“It’ll work out.” Seung-gil assured Phichit, squeezing his hand. “I promise.”

\---

They arrived in South Korea the day before they’d meet Jin-hee, the sweet little girl they were meant to adopt.

Originally they thought about surrogacy, that was the route a lot of their friends had gone, but both decided they rather adopt. Then they planned on adopting a baby but while they were in consultations it was suggested that they be open to the possibility of adopting an older child. When they’d been matched with the then six year old Jin-hee, they’d both fallen in love.

She’d lived with only her mother until she was three when either her mother died or had abandoned the child, the papers weren’t forthcoming with that information. Phichit wasn’t sure which he hoped for because both sounded traumatizing. Her English was decent for someone her age but that still meant it was just the basics. She had just recently turned seven and was supposed to be bright for her age.

But Phichit couldn’t care less about things like how good her English was or if she’d be ready for first grade in America. He just wanted her to be happy with them and the idea that she might not be was terrifying.

“Seung-gil?” Phichit and Seung-gil were laying in what felt like a too quiet hotel room, both too tired to do anything but stare at the ceiling with their hands intertwined.

“Yes?”

“Are you nervous?”

“Yes,” Seung-gil admitted. “Of course.”

“Why?”

“Why?” Seung-gil turned his head to look at Phichit. “What do you mean, why?”

“Why are you nervous?”

“Because we’re going to meet Jin-hee tomorrow and…”

“And?”

“I’m not very likeable.” He whispered the admittance. He and Phichit had talked about this before, had talked about how hard Seung-gil could be on himself, but it just kept coming up in his mind. He knew Phichit didn’t think he was unlikable and he was pretty sure their friends didn’t think that about him either but it was hard not to think about all the people who’d told him he was too cold or too blunt. “What if she doesn’t like me?”

“You’re plenty likable.” Phichit insisted. “All our friends’ kids love you. Remember how Andrew sat and talked to you when we visited for Yuuri’s birthday?”

Seung-gil smiled, “That was really cute. He really loves plants.”

“He’s such a nervous kid but he still liked talking to you.” Phichit continued. “He followed you around that whole night. He only really does that with Yuuri.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Yuuri told me.” Phichit countered. “And Yuuri told me that Andrew really likes you. You’re not unlikable. I bet Jin-hee will love you.”

“Are you still nervous?”

“Yah.”

“What are you nervous about?”

“A lot… My Korean is bad for one. What if we can’t talk to each other?”

“That’s what I’m here for.” Seung-gil smirked, “And you’re Korean isn’t bad.”

“My Korean is sloppy and kids are harder to understand,” Phichit said, half whining. “What if we can’t understand each other at all?”

“Like I said,” Seung-gil nuzzled his face in Phichit’s neck, making him laugh. “That’s what I’m here for. Believe it or not, I speak pretty good Korean.”

Phichit laughed at that, “I don’t know, prove it to me.”

“ _I love you._ ” Seung-gil murmured into Phichit’s neck, his hair tickling the side of Phichit’s face and his words tickling Phichit’s neck. “ _You’re my sunshine and I love you._ ”

“ _I love you too,_ ” Phichit responded, “ _I love you so much._ ”

\---

The girl was small and uncertain looking with black hair that fell into her eyes as she looked down at the floor. Her right hand was holding tightly to a fistful of her light blue polo shirt and her left hand was playing with the end of her black skirt. To Phichit’s eyes she looked too skinny and too small but he guessed he was just unused to a girl of this age who wasn’t also heavily invested in sports. The way she turned in on herself was a little sad but Phichit knew not everyone could be outgoing and bubbly, especially not when meeting for the first time the people who could be your parents.

“ _Hello Jin-hee,_ ” Phichit squatted down so they were at eye level, “ _I’m Phichit._ ”

“ _Hello._ ” Was her quiet response, her eyes still trained on her shoes.

“ _I’m Seung-_ gil _._ ” Seung-gil followed Phichit lead, squatting in front of the girl. “ _But you already knew who we are, right?_ ”

She nodded, looking up at Seung-gil and Phichit for the first time since they arrived.

“ _You don’t have to be afraid of us,_ ” Phichit insisted. “ _We want to be your parents but only if you want us to be._ ”

Jin-hee looked at them, confusion obvious in her eyes to the point that Phichit thought he’d said something wrong. But after a moment the confusion melted into interest. She seemed a little like a turtle coming slowly out of its shell to see if it was safe.

“ _Where are you from?_ ”

“ _New York… in America._ ” Seung-gil responded, _“We’re florists… we sell flowers. Before_ that _we were ice skaters. Do you know ice skating?”_

She nodded, “ _That’s in The Olympics._ ”

“ _Yes._ ” Phichit smiled at her, “ _But we both stopped skating when you were still a baby. In 2018 Seung-_ gil _won… umm…_ ” He glanced at Seung-gil when he couldn’t find the words.

“ _Third place._ ”

“ _That's cool._ ” She said, smiling slightly at them.

They lapsed into silence, Seung-gil unsure what else he should say and Phichit uncertain how to say most of what he was thinking.

After a long moment of silence, Jin-hee looked at Phichit.

“ _Where are you from?_ ”

Phichit looked at Seung-gil, realizing he didn't know how to say Thailand in Korean. In this moment it seemed like a really stupid thing not to look up.

“ _Thailand,_ ” Seung-gil answered. “ _Do you know where Thailand is?”_

Jin-hee shook her head, suddenly folding back in on herself. “ _Sorry._ ”

“ _It's fine,_ ” Phichit insisted. “ _A lot of people don't._ ”

And then she was back, seeming to peak back out from her shell with interest in her eyes.

“ _Jin-hee, how would you like to come home with us?”_ Seung-gil asked after Phichit asked him how to ask her just that.

“ _I would…_ ” She took a deep breath, seeming to search for something in her own mind. Finally, she made an attempt at English, surprising Seung-gil and Phichit. “I will like that.”

\---

Before they brought Jin-hee back to their home in New York, Seung-gil and Phichit had decided to spend a few days with Seung-gil parents. It seemed like a good idea to get Jin-hee comfortable with them while still in her home country before they uprooted her completely. Also, they both felt better with experienced parents around.

Eun-ju and Jin-ho were both ecstatic about the visit, especially Jin-ho who was also just happy to see Seung-gil and Phichit. Eun-ju, much like her son, was much more subdued about the whole plan but everyone knew she was excited to have a granddaughter. Phichit suspected she’d resigned herself to never having grandchildren before they announced their plans for adoption.

Mi-na wasn’t in South Korea at the moment, instead of competing in the Grand Prix series and doing very well for herself. She had been talking all season about how this was her season now that Mila had retired and Phichit was sure she was right though he thought she had some stiff competition in the form of Avery.

“ _How do you like my cooking, Jin-hee?_ ” Seung-gil’s mother, Eun-ju, asked. Her face was serious but her words sounded lighter.

“ _It’s very good. Thank you._ ” Her voice was still quiet but Seung-gil’s parents had been able to get Jin-hee a little out of her shell.

“ _No need to be so formal._ ” Jin-ho gave the girl a big smile, his personality more similar to Mi-na’s than Seung-gil’s. “ _You know, you are perfect for this family. We didn’t give our kids a generation name but now here you are, called Jin-hee and everything._ ”

Jin-hee looked uncertain for a moment but finally broke under Jin-ho’s smile and started to giggle quietly, the sound setting a fond smile onto both Phichit and Seung-gil’s faces.

“ _Jin-hee,_ ” Phichit called to get the girl’s attention. “ _Tell us what you like to do._ ”

Suddenly she was folding back in on herself, Phichit imagining her like a turtle pulling her head back into safety. She shrugged and Phichit smiled at her.

“ _That’s okay…_ ” He hated how hard it was for him to speak Korean. “ _Do you like dogs?_ ”

At the mention of dogs, Jin-hee perked up. “ _Dogs?_ ”

“ _Yes._ ” Phichit nodded. “ _Do you like them?_ ”

Jin-hee nodded furiously and Seung-gil couldn’t help but smile widely, thinking this girl might be perfect. Not that he hadn’t already thought she was perfection, but now he felt it even more strongly.

“ _Sometimes, they brought dogs for us to play with,_ ” she explained. “ _To make us feel better, I think._ ”

“ _This was my old dog._ ” Seung-gil showed Jin-hee a few pictures of Kongju. “ _She passed away a little more than a year ago but, you know, when you get settled in America maybe we can get another dog._ ”

“ _Really?_ ” Phichit though his heart would explode when he saw the look of surprise and hope plainly written across Jin-hee’s face.

“ _If you want._ ” Phichit smiled widely at the girl, at his daughter, reaching over and pulling her into a hug. For a moment she was stiff but then her muscles relaxed and she seemed to melt into the embrace. For a moment, he found himself slipping accidentally into Thai. “ **Anything you want.** ”

When he pulled away, Jin-hee was looking at him oddly.

“You… What did you say?” She asked, attempting English again and doing a good job.

“Sorry, I was talking in Thai.” He smiled at her. “ _My first language._ ”

“ _Can I learn it?_ ”

“ _It’s pretty hard,_ ” Phichit explained. “ _I can teach you some if you want._ ”

Jin-hee smiled, looking at the ground. “Maybe… I’ll get better at English first. Then maybe I can learn some Thai… since you learn... learned Korean.”

“Whatever you want, Sweetie.” Phichit glanced at Seung-gil. “You know, in Thailand all babies are given nicknames that get used all the time. Do you want a nickname?”

“A nickname?”

Seung-gil translated the word but she still looked confused.

“Like an informal name,” Seung-gil explained, feeling bad that she didn’t recognize the word.

“I was thinking, a good nickname for you would be ‘Tao.’" Phichit smiled at her. "How does that sound?”

“Tao?” Jin-hee mimicked, the sound falling easily off her tongue.

“Yes.” Phichit smiled wider. “It means…” He looked at Seung-gil for a translation, “Turtle?”

“ _He said it means turtle._ ” Seung-gil translated.

“ _Turtle?_ ” Seung-gil nodded. “Tao?” Phichit nodded. “I… I like Tao.” Jin-hee smiled at Phichit. “Do you… have a… nickname?”

“Aah…” Phichit blushed, Seung-gil realizing he didn’t know that nicknames were so important in Thailand. “I don’t use it.”

“Wait, what is it?” Seung-gil asked, intrigued by Phichit’s blush.

“Don’t worry about it.” Phichit waved him away but Seung-gil wasn’t going to back down.

“You have to tell me,” Seung-gil insisted. “Please?”

“Fine!” Phichit only caved when Seung-gil widened his eyes in an attempt at puppy-dog eyes. They failed miserably but Phichit was weak to pretty much everything Seung-gil did, especially if it was out of character. “My nickname was Pui.”

“Pui?” Seung-gil raised and eyebrow, smirking a little. “What does that mean?”

“Don’t worry–” Now Jin-hee was mimicking Seung-gil, her eyes wide and pleading. She was much better at puppy-dog eyes. “You’re already a bad influence on her.”

“Well?” Now Jin-ho was smiling at Phichit and leaning in. “What does it mean?”

Phichit groaned but finally gave up, “It means plump.”

Jin-ho was the first to laugh, the sound much like Mi-na’s laugh, while Seung-gil gave a translation to Jin-hee while trying not to laugh. Upon hearing the meaning in Korean, Jin-hee laughed too, the sound quiet and almost fragile but so charming. It sounded almost like she hadn’t laughed in a long time and was unsure of how to do so anymore. Seung-gil’s face fell into a soft smile, a few rare giggles escaping his mouth as Phichit watched.

Phichit could feel heat in his cheeks but, honestly, he didn’t mind much because if he could make Jin-hee and Seung-gil laugh then he’d embarrass himself as many times as necessary. Just seeing Seung-gil smile and be at ease was enough to warm Phichit’s heart to the core but to be able to see the quiet Jin-hee seem a little more at ease too was perfection.

Until now Phichit never realized quite how much he wanted this in his life but now it seemed so obvious that this was what they needed. He’d wanted a family that wasn’t just his or just Seung-gil’s. He wanted a family that was theirs and, sure, just the two of them was a great family but this… this was exactly what he’d wanted without even realizing.

He knew there was a long road ahead before Jin-hee would probably trust them completely or even think of them as family but he was ready to walk it, hand-in-hand with Seung-gil.

Phichit reached out to grab Seung-gil’s hand, holding onto it tightly while smiling at the scene. Seung-gil gave him a concerned look but once he saw Phichit’s face, the concern melted and he nodded to Phichit who nodded back.

This would be a long road but this was exactly what he, what they, wanted.

**Author's Note:**

> Next up will be a huge ass fic about Yuri and Otabek because, jesus, apparently Yuri is the only person I can write about. I'm just not sure when it'll be done because while it's not _that_ long, it's way longer than planned. 
> 
> Then I might do one about Michemil's kids because that's important later on. Then It'll be time for OC-central. I hope you know that there's a fic centered on Noa and one other kid which is my favorite thing I've written in a while so... watch out for that. 
> 
> Hopefully, you'll stick around for my OCs but if not, I understand!


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